Palm Sunday
Paraphrase of Matthew 26:17—27:66
First Lesson adapted from Matthew 26:17-35
On the first day of Passover, while Jesus and the twelve disciples were eating, Jesus said, “One of you will betray me.” And, they became greatly distressed, saying one after another, “Surely not I?” He answered, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. Judas, who betrayed him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” He replied, “You have said so.”
Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” Then, he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Then Jesus said to them, “You will all become deserters because of me this night, but Peter said to him, “Though all become deserters because of you, I will never desert you.” Jesus said to him, “Truly I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.”
Second Lesson adapted from Matthew 26:36-56
Then Jesus went with them to Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray.” He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and he said to them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.” He threw himself on the ground and prayed, “My Father, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.” Then, he found the disciples sleeping; and he said to Peter, “You not stay awake with me one hour? Again, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” Again, he came and found them sleeping. Leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time. Then, he came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping? The hour is at hand; the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
Judas arrived with the chief priests and the elders of the people. He had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man.” He came to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him. Jesus said, “Friend, do what you are here to do.” Then, they came and arrested him. Suddenly, one of those with Jesus put his hand on his sword, drew it, and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear. Jesus said, “Put away your sword; for all who take the sword will die by the sword.” Jesus said to the crowd, “Have you come with swords and clubs to arrest me as if I were a bandit? Day after day, I taught in the temple, and you did not arrest me. But, all this has taken place so that the scriptures of the prophets may be fulfilled.” Then, all the disciples deserted him and fled.
Third Lesson adapted from Matthew 26:57-75
Jesus was taken him to Caiaphas, the high priest. Peter was following at a distance, and he sat with the guards in order to see how this would end. The chief priests and the whole council were looking for false testimony against Jesus so that they might put him to death. Two witnesses came forward, saying, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’” The high priest said, “Have you no answer?” But, Jesus was silent. Then, the high priest said, “I put you under oath before the living God, tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.” Jesus said, “You have said so. But, I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” The high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses? What is your verdict?” They answered, “He deserves death.” Then, they spat in his face and struck him saying, “Prophesy to us, Messiah! Who is it that struck you?”
In the courtyard, a servant came to Peter and said, “You were with Jesus, the Galilean.” But, he denied it, saying, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” When he went to the porch, another servant saw him, and she said, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” Again, he denied it, saying, “I don’t know the man.” A little while later, the bystanders said to Peter, “Certainly you are also one of them, for your accent betrays you.” Then he began to curse, and he swore an oath, “I do not know the man!” At that moment, the rooster crowed, and Peter remembered what Jesus had said: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And, he went out and wept bitterly.
Fourth Lesson adapted from Matthew 27:1-32
When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus in order to bring about his death. They bound him, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate the governor.
Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You say so.” Then, Pilate asked, “Do you not hear how many accusations they make against you?” But, he gave no answer. At the festival, it was custom for the governor to release a prisoner for the crowd. Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you, Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for today I have suffered a great deal because of a dream about him.” The chief priests and elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas, and to have Jesus killed. The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” Pilate said, “Then what should I do with Jesus, who is called the Messiah?” All of them said, “Let him be crucified!” Seeing that he could do nothing, he washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.” As a whole, the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!”
So, he released Barabbas; and after flogging Jesus, handed him over to be crucified. They put a scarlet robe on him, and a crown of thorns on his head. They knelt before him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They spat on him, and struck him on the head. After mocking him, they stripped him of the robe, and led him away to crucify him. As they went out, they came upon a man from Cyrene named Simon, who they compelled to carry his cross.
Fifth Lesson adapted from Matthew 27:33-56
When they came to the Place of the Skull, they crucified him, and divided his clothes among themselves by casting lots; Over his head they put a sign which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” Those who passed by derided him, saying, “You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross now, and we will believe in you.” The two bandits who were crucified with him taunted him in the same way. At noon, darkness came over the whole land, and at three o’clock, Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Then Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed his last. At that moment, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split. When those who were keeping watch over him saw what took place, they were terrified and said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!” Many women were also there, looking on from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
Sixth Lesson adapted from Matthew 27:57-66
When it was evening, Joseph of Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus, went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate ordered it to be given to him, so Joseph took the body and laid it in a new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb. The next day, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember what that impostor said while he was still alive, ‘After three days, I will rise again.’ Therefore, command the tomb to be made secure until the third day; otherwise his disciples may go and steal him away, and tell the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead,’ and the last deception would be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers; go, and secure it.” So, they went with the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone.
Pastoral Reflection
Last week, we talked about the valley of dry bones, and how the bones were a metaphor for the hopelessness of the Jewish people in exile. One reason that we see it as a reading during Lent is because God resurrects the bones, in the same way that we know Go dis going to resurrect Jesus. But, as I was thinking about the story of Palm Sunday, I realized that the helplessness itself that was experienced by the Jewish people also helps to put the events of Holy Week, the week between Palm Sunday and Easter, into perspective.
Unlike the Luke reading last year, we don’t start with Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. In the Gospel of Matthew, that happens all the way back in chapter 21, and our reading started with chapter 26. Instead, our reading starts with the preparation for the Passover meal, which we will celebrate ourselves today as we partake in the sacrament of communion.
Almost immediately, Jesus says that one of them will betray him, which they all, of course, deny. Jesus blesses the bread, and he blesses the wine, and he tells them that he is the bread and the wine. And then, we have the scene where Jesus goes to pray, and none of the disciples are able to stay awake with him.
And, Judas arrives with a crowd of people. He’s told them that he will identify Jesus with a kiss, and he goes up to Jesus and cheerfully greets him, “Greetings, Rabbi!” And, he gives Jesus a kiss, and Jesus is arrested. The religious and political leaders had been conspiring to figure out a way to get rid of Jesus. He was too powerful, the people loved him too much! He had too much influence, and they didn’t like what he was teaching. Now, he never directly claims to be the Son of God to the priests, but he also refuses to deny it, and this is something that the priests cannot abide.
By the end of our readings today, Jesus will be arrested, tried, and crucified, not good for the movement that he started and for all of his disciples. Can you imagine what it must have been like to have been one of the disciples during that time? This man that you had been following, this wonderful, kind, enigmatic man who could perform miracles, had been killed. This person who held all of your hopes in the palm of his hand, this man who was your connection to God, your teacher, your friend. They must have talked about how they were going to continue his teachings now that he was dead, how they were going to move forward and get past this. But, the hopelessness and the despair must have been overwhelming. This would have definitely been a valley of dry bones situation. Last week, we talked about how first century Jews would have been familiar with the story of the valley of dry bones. I wonder how many of them, when confronted the crucifixion of Jesus, would have turned to that story as a source of hope.
Yes, Jesus said he was going to come back, and they had seen him perform so many miracles, but how was Jesus supposed to bring himself back from the dead? I’m sure they all hoped and believed, in varying ways to varying degrees, that it could happen, but you know they had to have their doubts.
We know how this story ends, because this all happened so long ago, and we tell this story again and again, every year, to remind ourselves what can happen when leaders pay attention on the wrong things. We can all understand the very real doubts and fears that Jesus’ followers must have had. We can sit with them in this moment, in the valley of dry bones. We can commiserate with them and try to understand what they must have been feeling. I invite you to think back to a time in your life when it felt like everything was falling apart, like everything was lost. I hope that in understanding your own experience of hardship, that you are able to sympathize with those who are suffering around you, and that it gives you the strength to offer comfort when you can. We know that all things are possible with God, so we can hold on to that hope, and we can hold on to that hope for others, when they are unable to hold onto it for themselves. Remember, this is not the end of the story, no matter how bleak it might seem. God is with you, and always will be. Amen.
~ Rev. Charles Wei
